Rough honing machine for razor blades



Dec. 5, 1933. T. c. SHEEHAN 1,937,795

ROUGH HONING MACHINE FOR RAZOR BLADES Filed July 26, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet1 v 'l Il M ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1933. 1-. c. SHEEHAN ROUGH HONING MACHINEFOR RAZOR BLADES Filed July 26, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT A TORNEY T.C. SHEEHAN VENTOR T ORNEY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 5, 1933.

ROUGH HONING MACHINE FOR RAZOR BLADES 5, 1.933. T. c. SHEEHAN ROUGHHONING MACHINE FOR RAZOR BLADES Filed July 26, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ti1U.

Patented Dec. 5, 1933 I i 1 r V STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ROUGH HONING MAfiHINE FOR RAZOR BLADES Thomas Cornelius Sheehan, UpperMontclair, N. J assignor to Wade & Butcher Corporation, a corporation ofNew Jersey "Application July 26, 1928. Serial Ne.295,594

'7 Claims. (01. iii-80) This invention relates to a honing machinementionedin view, the invention consists in cerfor razor blades,particularly for rough honing tain constructions and combinations whichwill blades ,of the replaceable type used in certain be hereinafterfully described and then set forth safetyrazors, in whichthe blades are.automatiin the claims hereunto appended.

cally and uniformly honed by forwarding the In the accompanying drawingswhich form a 6() blades past a suitable hone or fine grinding surpart ofthis specification and in which like charface. t actors of referenceindicate the same or like One important object of the invention is toparts: A i produce a machine of this type which will satis- Figs; 1 and2 are respectively the left and factorily hone the new curved blades,which right halves of a complete plan view of .a ma- 65 are concave onone side and convex on the. chine in accordance with the invention;

other. i i Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively the left and Another importantobject is to provide a maright halves of a complete front elevation ofthe chine of. this type in which the blades will be machine shown inFigs. 1 and 2;

firmly guided in a fixed path, during the honing, Fig. 5 is a verticalcross section on an enlarged 70 to obviate vibration of the forwardingmeans scale taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and to insure perfectlystraight and aligned Fig. fi is a horizontal section takenon the lineedges on the blade by, preventing tilting of the 6-6 of Fig. 5; blade oryielding of the delicate ground edge. Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectionalview of a detail Hitherto a great difilculty has been experienced shownin Fig. 5; q 75 in soguiding t b a particularly in. g d Fig. 8 is asectional view on the line 8--8 of. p the curved razor blades in whichthe honing Fig. 1;

means must beclose to the edge of the blade Fig. 9 is a horizontalsection taken on line il order to grind the concave edge surface. 9-9 ofFig. 8;

259' Oneof the objec s of t e inve on s tonb. Fig. 10 is a section takenon line 1010 of 80 and relating the bone to e edge, that the hone Fig.11 is an enlarged sectional view of a detail itself serves as a guidefor the edge of the blade h wn i Fi 8; and

and, in part, by guidingtheother edge t e Fig. 12 is a side view showingthe concave blade in a predetermined. path;

viate-these diificulties, in part, by so shaping Fi 3';

Another object of the invention is to im- In the best constructions,there is provided, prove ,the honing of the b ad by DTOVidillg arotating hone of elongated cylindrical shape bones of relat ve y greatlength C pa ed wi h and" of greater length than the length of the elfingth 0f the l d av ng a large blades and means for forwarding theblades side of the blade. 5

on n S by t honing is gradual lengthwise of said hone with an entireedge of 90 thoughimpid and W P 1111111 lfi o ii each blade bearing atone time on the cylin- Tespondingly Small, thus lendei'ing adjustmentdrical surface of said phone. In the best conweal infrequent Th ishighly important structions, the forwarding means will include becausethe difficulty of "ma n the amoving belt and a stationary belt between40 propel? angle ofthe h n surface to the blade which the blades areforwarded. In the best when adjusting for e constructions also, therewill be provided in still another Object is re s s combination with themeans for forwarding sumciently small diameter comparediwitih their theblades a plurality of rotating cylindrical length"so that theymayhollowhgne the edge hone-s" of greater length than the blades, ar-

"of the blade without sacrificing long wear. l i

. 1 4 ranged on either side of the path of the blades Hltherto it hasbeen found dlmcult with theircylindrical surfaces in the path ofsulfaf'es u 9 1 the edges of the forwarded blades, the bones ments 1nmachines of this geneial type inpiopei h I f t1 b1 (1 b relation to theedge due to wear of the bearings, 9 9 islde of h path 0 a emg which hasresulted from the persistence with 0031513115 arranged on axes.Parallel. 9 Sam a hwhich the gritty liquid from the honing or grindmeansabove referred may be w l varled ing element works into thebearings. .Itis an i construction within the scope of e clams. object of theinvention to provide effective means f the p i m m h ne l ed to Il u rafor ellmi natingthis difficultyg n the invention is but one of manyposs1ble em- 55 With these and other bjects notlspecifically bodimentsof the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to theprecise details of the structure shown and described.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings, there isprovided a rectangular table 13 on the underside of which is journalledthe main drive shaft 14 having a drive pulley 15 near the outer end anda worm 16 near the inner end, the latter meshing with a worm wheel 17mounted on a short vertical shaft 18 journalled on the table 13 andhaving at its upper end the horizontal pulley 21. This pulley supportsthe narrow steel blade-forwarding belt 22 in cooperation with a secondpulley 25 at the other end of the table rotatably mounted on a stubshaft 26 secured to the slide block 27 in the slideway 28 on the table18, whereby the second pulley may be adjusted to tension the belt. Lugs29 on the belt support the curved blades 30 which are concave on oneside and convex on the other (Fig. 12) with the two edges above andbelow the belt. Holding these blades on the belt 22 and guiding the sameduring forwarding, a stationary belt 31 of considerably greater breadththan the belt 22 is supported by fixed pulleys 32 and 33 on the tableand adjustably supported pulleys 34 and 35 on the adjustable support 36to permit tensioning of the belt 31. The stationary belt is supportedalong one side and its lower edge by a plate 37 having a shallow cut outportion on the upper part of the inside surface. This plate extendssubstantially the entire distance through which the blades are forwardedfrom the blade feed to the take oif device. A stationary guide plate 38guides the moving belt 22 as it forwards the blades, extending theentire length of the belt between the blade feed and the blade takeoff.This guide plate bears on the belt 22, at its upper inside surfaceportion 39, the inside surface of said plate below this portion beingrecessed to receive the lower edge of the curved blade. Below therecess, the surface of this plate also engages and holds firm thestationary belt. The lugs on the belt 22 ride on the upper edge of thebelt 31. The effect of the two guide plates and the stationary belt is,it can be seen from inspection of Figs. 7 and 11, to confine the loweredge of the blade to a fixed predetermined path.

The blades are fed between the movable and stationary belts by means ofan automatic blade feed F, the particular construction of which forms nopart of the present application, being fully disclosed in my copendingapplication S. N. 295597 filed July 26, 1928. From this automatic feedthe blades are guided into their position between the two belts by theopposed guide bars 42 and 43 supported on the table by brackets 44 and44a respectively.

In the path of the upper exposed edge. of the blades as they areforwarded by the belt 22, is a convex hone 45 mounted on a shaft 46 toengage the convex side of the blades, which shaft is supported at itsopposite ends in bearings 47.

These bearings are mounted within a hollow bearing block 48 which isopen only at the end' towards the body of the shaft and this end of thebearing block is closed by a liquid excluding cover 49, which surroundsthe entering ends of the shaft to protect the bearings from the fluidused in grinding. A suitable drive pulley 46a, connected by a belt to asuitable source of power, not shown, drives the shaft 46. The hone 45 iscompletely surrounded by a sheet metal casing 50 which prevents anyliquid flying directly on the exterior of the bearing block and thecovers, and this casing is lined at the point where the most liquid isthrown with felt which makes a substantially liquid tight contact withthe shaft where it passes out through the casing and at the same timereduces splashing and reduces the noise from the grinding. As will beseen from Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the hone is of elongated cylindricalshape and is supported with its axis parallel to the path of the blades,so that the entire length of the edge being ground rests flat againstthe cylindrical surface of the hone during the greater part of thehoning operation. Thus the hone itself serves as a guide to preventlongitudinal tilting of the blade and to maintain the'edge in perfectalignment, as well as to steady the same on the forwarding means.

The bearing blocks 48 are mounted in the slideways 53 in bracket 54secured by screws through slots 55 to a base plate 56 which, in turn, issecured by screws 57 to the table 13. The slideways 53 are in a verticalplane parallel to the path of the edge of the blade and the slottedbrackets are adjustable in a horizontal plane parallel to the same path,so that the hone may be adjusted horizontally and vertically in a planeparallel to the edge of the blade.

Opposite -to and cooperating with the hone to hold the edge'of the bladeagainst the surface of the hone is a guide plate 56' having its edge 56ainclined to engage the edge of the blade on its concave side. This edgeof the blade extends substantially the entire length of the hone,thereby engaging the entire edge of the blade during its passage alongthe hone and in that way insuring alignment and uniform pressure of theblade edge against the hone. This blade is yieldably supported on a bellcrank 59 to which it is secured by screws through slots 58, the bellcrank being pivoted at 60 to a base 61, the base being adjustablysecured to the table by screws through slots in the base. A stud 62 onthe base projects through an opening 62a in the other arm of the bellcrank and threaded thereon is a thumb nut 63 bearing on the top side ofthe bell crank and opposing the spring 64 pushing on the lower side ofthe arm of the bell crank, thereby yieldingly pressing the edge of theplate 56' against the blade.

After the blade passes the hone on the convex side of the blade, itcomes into the range of action of the hone 70 on the concave side of theblade, which hone is of relatively small diameter compared with theconvex hone and compared with its length, for the purpose of hollowhoning the blade This hone is mounted on a shaft 71 which is'journalledon bearings 72. The bearing '72 at one end of the shaft is mounted inprotected position within the end block '73, hollowed out at one end andthreaded into the shaft at its other end. The purpose of this is toprotect the bearing as much as possible from the grinding liquid. Thestationary member of the bearing '72 is slidable on a slideway in abracket '76 secured by screws 78 to a base plate 79, in turn secured tothe table by screws through slots 80. The stationary member of thebearing at the other end of the shaft is similarly mounted and byadjusting the brackets on the base plate and the stationary bearingmembers on the slideways respectively, the hone may be adjusted inhorizontal and vertical planes parallel to the path of the blades, asalready described in connection with the hone on the convex side of theblade. The stationary bearing at i the other or driven end of the shaftenters in a protected position into arecess, in the end of the shaft.Further protection of the bearings from the liquid used in grinding isattained by encasing the hone in a sheetmetal casing 50 and lining thecasing with a lining of felt 82 and providing glands on "the shaft atthe points where the shaft passes out through the lining and the casing,about which glands the felt makes a substantially, liquid tight fit. Thegland at the driven end of theshai'tis formed by Washer 83, anenlargement on the shaft 84 and the inner face of the driving pinion 85.The gland at the other end of the shaft is formed by a pair of washers86 and 8'7 and a bushingBS. The drive pinion fixed to the shaft 71meshes with a gear 89 secured to a pulley 95, both being journalled on astub shaft 94 secured to the base plate 79 by means of a bracket 92 andscrews in slots 93 therein. I Ayieldably mountedbacking-upplate {)6having an upwardly inclined edge surface extending across the surface ofthe hone, bears on the edge of the blade in opposition to the hone andserves to hold the edge in alignment and at the proper pressure againstthe hone in exactly the same alignment as the guide plate 56. The meansyieldably mounting this plate are identical with that supporting theguide plate 56 and, accordingly, further description thereof is omittedin the interest of brevity. The lower edge of the blade, as shown inFig. 11, is guided along a fixed predetermined path by the same means,in exactly the same manner, asthe same edge was guided while passing thehone on the convex side of the plate already described. Duringforwarding of the blade as it passes in a right line from the blade feedto the blade takeoff, there are provided three more hones on the concaveside of the same edge of the blade of identical structure and positionto that which has been described. Further description of these honeswill, therefore, be omitted for the sake of brevity. After passing thehones on the concave side of the blade, the blades pass into the rangeof action of another hone on the convex side of the plate, identical instructure and its relation to the path of the blades to the hone firstdescribed. On further forwarding of the blades, they are guided by meansof a takeoff guide to the takeoif device T, to which blades are ejectedby a spring ejector and stacked at this takeoff device, as fullydescribed in my above mentioned copending application.

Pipe extending lengthwise of the forwarding means above the edge beingground, is perforated opposite each hone to supply the liquid forfacilitating honing. This liquid is pumped through piping 106 by a pump107 from a sump 108 having a horizontal strainer '109, which serves tostrain the liquid which drops from the hones. I

It is noted that by using a number of hones of relatively great lengthcompared with the ings causedby the grittyliquid from the hones has beeneliminated by, careful design and shielding of the bearings. Thepersistence with which this liquid works into the bearing spaces hasnecessitated the double precaution of protecting the bearing by a liquidproof cover at the bearing and at the same time shielding the exteriorof thebearing from direct passage of the liquid from the hone.

In view of the foregoing, a detailed description of the device is deemedunnecessary and accordingly is omitted in the interest of brevity.

What is claimed is: I

1. In a machine for sharpening razor blades, the combination with i arotating abrading element of elongated cylindrical shape and of greaterlength than the length of the blade, means fonforwarding individualrazor blades lengthwise of the hone, yieldingly mounted means acting onthe blade near one edge to cause the entire length of that edge to bearat one time on the cylindrical surface of the abrading element, andguide means on either side of said blade positioned to engage a portionof said blade remote from said edge to maintain said portion in apredetermined fixed path during sharpening, said yieldingly mountedmeans including a base, a bell crank lever pivoted on said base, a guideplate mounted on one arm of said lever and adapted to engage the blades,and a spring interposed between said base and the other arm of saidlever.

2. In a machine for sharpening razor blades, the combination with arotating abrading element of elongated cylindrical shape and of greaterlength than the length of the blades, of means for forwarding individualrazor blades lengthwise of the abrading element with an en- 'tire edgeof each blade bearing at one time on the cylindrical surface of theabrading element, yielding guide means holding said edge against theelement and guide means positioned to enu the combination with arotating abrading element of elongated cylindrical shape and of greaterlength than the length of the blades, of means for forwarding individualrazor blades lengthwise of the abrading element with an entire edge ofeach blade bearing at one time on 1 the cylindrical surface of theabrading element, yielding guide means holding said edge against theelement and guide means positioned to engage the central portion of theblade to main-- tain said portion in a predetermined fixed path,

saidyielding guide having a guide surface extending along substantiallythe length of said element, said yielding guide means including a base,a bell crank lever pivoted on said base, a

guide plate mounted on one arm of said lever and adapted to engage theblades, and a spring interposed between said base and the-other arm ofsaid lever.

4. In amachine for sharpening razor blades,

the combination'with a rotating abrading ele- 1.1

warding means including stationary and movingbelts between which theblades are forwarded, said moving belts having lugs for projectionthrough perforations in the blades and said stationary belt beingarranged to cause said lugs to ride on its upper edge.

5. In a machine for sharpening razor blades, the combination with arotating abrading element, a belt for forwarding the blades in contactwith said element, and means for guiding said blade and belt duringforwarding, including a stationary belt on the opposite side of saidblade from said moving belt and opposed stationary plates engaging theouter sides of said belts, the inside surface of one of said platesbeing longitudinally recessed to receive the lower edge of a curvedblade.

6. In a machine for sharpening razor blades, the combination with arotating abrading element, a belt for forwarding the blades in contactwith said element, and means for guiding said blade and belt duringforwarding, including a stationary belt on the opposite side of saidblade from said moving belt and opposed stationary plates engaging theouter sides of said belts, said plates engaging said belts at abradingposition and along substantially the.

whole operating run of the belt.

'7. In a machine for sharpening razor blades, the combination with arotating abrading member, of a shield entirely enclosing said member andhaving a splash reducing lining, the ends of said shield being providedwith vertical slots, a shaft supporting said member and having its endsprojecting through said slots and lining and having a liquid tightcontact with said lining, means for vertically adjusting said shaft insaidslots, meansfor forwarding razor blades through said shield to bringone edge of the blades into engagement with said abrading member, andmeans for supplying liquid to said abrading member adjacent said edge ofthe blades within said shield, said liquid supplying means including apipe projecting into said casing, and said lining being pivotallysupported on said pipe.

THOMAS CORNELIUS SHEEHAN.

